Forging Elite Fitness

Here is a guest post from Megan. Megan has been participating in the Coaches Development Program since last year. She works hard every week honing her skills. Putting yourself out there in these blog post is difficult. Show Megan some love in the comments.

I have always been an athlete. I was involved in sports as soon as I was able to walk. Prior to high school, I never really thought about what my body looked like. Did it perform well during practice? Was I getting stronger? Throwing harder? Running faster? These were the questions I was focused on. Not questions regarding my body image. When I started high school, all it took was a few taunts about how thick my thighs were and how big my butt was for me to become incredibly self-conscious. My parents tried to console me by telling me I was just very muscular and strong, and that wasn't something to be upset about. But I didn't want to be strong and muscular. I wanted to be skinny like the models I saw in magazines or on TV. By the end of high school I had quit softball in favor of dance, was eating very little, and was down to a size 2. I should have been happy with my body. Was I? Not really. Even though I was pretty skinny, the same issues I had with my body at the start of high school lingered in the back of my mind.

Over the last few years my body has cycled through periods of being on the leaner side to having a little extra pounds hanging around. I had grown out of my awkward teenage years (everybody has them) and as more time went on, the less the taunting from high school bothered me. For the most part, I wasn’t necessarily one way or another in regards to my body image. But occasionally, a seemingly inconsequential comment about my bubble butt would send me right back to high school. When I started CrossFit I found that my muscular legs were a blessing. They've allowed me to lift a lot of weight, run fast, and jump high. My legs and my butt have become attributes I am proud of versus things I try to camouflage. Many of you have seen my “This is why I squat” tank that I wear proudly around the gym. I would not have been confident enough to even buy that shirt a year ago. CrossFit has given me that confidence and changed the way I see myself in the mirror. What has CrossFit done for you?